8 Great Dessert Recipes, No Baking Required

It may be the sweltering heat or that your oven is already being used — whatever the reason, there are days you want dessert, but don’t want to bake. When a sweet craving strikes but the oven isn’t an option, there are still plenty of desserts you can make to satisfy any craving. Keep reading for eight treats with no baking required.

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1. Peanut Butter Pie

The creamy goodness of peanut butter meets rich chocolate, and pairs perfectly with a graham cracker crust in this peanut butter pie from AllRecipes.com.

2. Cheesecake

Cheesecake lovers unite! No matter what topping you prefer, everyone can agree that this basic cheesecake by Martha Stewart is a great way to start your dessert. After preparing or while it is setting, whip up your favorite cheesecake garnish if desired.

Ingredients:

2 packages (20 sheets) graham crackers

11 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 (14-ounce can) sweetened condensed milk (1¼ cups)

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: Put graham crackers in a large resealable plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin until very fine crumbs form. Pour crumbs into a medium bowl; stir in sugar. Add butter, and stir until well combined. Press the crumb mixture into a 9-inch springform pan, spreading it 1½ to 2 inches up the side; press flat. Chill crust in freezer at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling by using an electric mixer set at medium-high speed, beating the cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the condensed milk a little at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.

Pour the filling into the crust; smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 2½ to 3 hours. To serve, unclasp sides of pan, and remove cheesecake.

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3. Cookie Cake

For many, no bake cookies – like these from AllRecipes.com – are people’s first thought when they think of a no bake dessert. But did you realize you could press those cookies into a cake? Foodie Stuff did, and after using 8, 6, and 4-inch cake pans, they were able to make a no bake layer cake. Alternatively, you can follow the directions below for rounded cookies.

Ingredients:

1¾ cups white sugar

½ cup milk

½ cup butter

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup crunchy peanut butter

3 cups quick-cooking oats

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa. Bring to a boil and cook for 1½ minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool until hardened.

For the cake version, line 8, 6, and 4-inch cake pans with parchment paper and sprayed the sides with Pam. Pour/spread the batter into the pans, pressing down on it to fill the whole pan evenly and even out the top. After the layers set, stack them and put Reese’s cups and birthday candles on top of the layers.

5. Ice Box Cake

Another classic in the realm of no bake desserts. There are countless variations, but if you want to take advantage of fresh, seasonal strawberries you definitely need to make Foodie For Two‘s Strawberry Vanilla Ice Box Cake.

Directions: For the filling, add the chopped strawberries to a medium bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar; mix and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the whipping cream, mascarpone cheese, ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar and vanilla Mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined and increase speed to medium; mix until stiff peaks form. Remove bowl from mixer, scrape off whipped cream from whisk attachment, and gently fold in the chopped strawberries.

To assemble, arrange the vanilla wafers in a single layer in the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch springform pan, covering as much of the bottom as possible; if needed, break some cookies to fill in the larger spaces. Add ¼ of the mixture on top of the cookies and spread out evenly, making sure the edges are well covered. Repeat with remaining layers (4 of each) and finish with the whipped cream mixture. Smooth the top, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

To serve, release the clasp on the ring of the pan and gently run a knife along the edge of cake. Remove the ring, slice, and serve cold.

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6. Buckeyes

If you’ve spent some time in the Buckeye State, chances are you’ve sampled this peanut butter and chocolate candy a time or two. But, you can also make this classic Ohio offering at home thanks to AllRecipes.com.

Ingredients:

1½ cups peanut butter

1 cup butter, softened

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

6 cups confectioners’ sugar

4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar. The dough will look dry. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Press a toothpick into the top of each ball (to be used later as the handle for dipping) and chill in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until smooth. Dip frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate holding onto the toothpick. Leave a small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like Buckeyes. Put back on the cookie sheet and refrigerate until serving.

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7. Banana Ice Cream

Nope, you don’t need an ice cream maker or a special attachment for your Kitchen Aid mixer to make this banana ice cream from Bake at 350. All you need is a blender, some ripe bananas, and Nutella. You can substitute other flavors for the Nutella, or make just banana flavored ice cream.

Ingredients:

4 bananas, sliced and frozen

5 tablespoons Nutella

Directions: Slice bananas, placing them in a freezer-proof bag or spreading them out in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. In a heavy-duty, high-powered blender (or food processor), process the bananas, scraping down the sides of the blender every so often. Additional milk or coconut milk may assist with blending at this stage.

This will take several minutes, then all of a sudden, it’s smooth and creamy. Add the Nutella and process until blended. Serve immediately, or re-freeze for later.

Source: iStock

8. Poached Pears

Poached pears are a simple dessert that mixes naturally sweet cinnamon and pears with your favorite ice cream. Like Cooking Light, you can use a low-fat ice cream, or you could put your own twist on the dish by using gelato.

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick

1 (3-inch) piece lemon rind

1 large pear, peeled, halved, and cored

1 cup vanilla ice cream

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

Directions: Combine first 5 ingredients in large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add pear halves; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until tender. Remove the pear halves with a slotted spoon; discard liquid. Place pears in a large shallow dish; cover and chill. Serve the pear halves with ice cream. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.